Why The USS Utah Can NEVER Be Raised

The USS Utah was one of the American battleships attacked at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. Struck by Japanese torpedoes, the old battleship capsized and sank, killing 58 members of her crew. But unlike many other ships damaged that morning, the Utah was never fully raised. In 1943, the U.S. Navy attached enormous cables to the wreck and attempted to roll her upright. They managed to move the battleship, but in 1944, the operation was abandoned. More than eighty years later, the Utah is still there. But why did the Navy stop trying to raise her? And could she ever be raised today?

In this video, we follow the incredible story of the USS Utah — from her transformation into a target ship and the devastating attack at Pearl Harbor, to the remarkable salvage operation that partially righted her, the reasons why the Navy left her behind, and why this forgotten battleship remains one of Pearl Harbor's least-visited memorials.

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Sources:
National Park Service — USS Utah Memorial (nps.gov)
National Park Service — USS Utah Interments (nps.gov)
Naval History and Heritage Command — Righting of USS Utah, 1943–1944 (history.navy.mil)
Naval History and Heritage Command — Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: USS Utah (history.navy.mil)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency — USS Utah Supplement Report (dpaa.mil)
Utah Historical Society — USS Utah: Ship's Bell Returns Home (history.utah.gov)
Wikipedia: USS Utah, Attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor